Hang In There// P.P.

Chapter 10: Losses.

The slow beeping of wired machines woke me from what seemed like never ending sleep. My eyes opened and closed, trying to adjust to the lighting of the room. I looked around me to find myself connected to various machines, the panic and realisation kicking in. I jolted up, a pain erupting in my abdomen, causing me to lay back down and close my eyes. Once it resided I spotted a sleeping figure sitting in the corner of the dark room.

Peter.

My mind played back on all the events that took place in the last twenty four hours. How Spider-Man and I took down those drug dealers. How I got shot trying to protect Spider-Man and how I find out that Spider-Man was actually Peter Parker.

Holy Shit! Peter Parker was Spider-Man!

A nurse came into the room quietly, carrying a tray of medication in her hand.

"It's good to see you're awake."

She smiled kindly at me as she sorted out the pills beside me. She nodded towards a sleeping Peter with her head.

"You're boyfriend has been here the whole time."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend."

She gave me a shocked look before handing me various painkillers, telling me to take them all. From the corner of my eye I could see Peter stirring as the nurse kept talking, but I couldn't tear my eyes off of him.

"You're okay for everything else, yes?"

I nodded in response and she smiled before walking out of the room. Leaving Peter Parker and I in a tense atmosphere.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I frowned at him.

"Tell you what?"

"That you were her."

I sighed knowing what he was referring to. But then again that posed the question:

"Why didn't you tell me you were him? "

Peter looked down at his feet, unable to make eye contact.

"I didn't want you to find out because I was afraid of putting you in danger. Little did I know."

"Pete, you weren't very good at keeping it a secret from me."

He looked at me confused.

"You repeated the line 'watch your six' to me the day after I had said it to Spider-Man. That was hint number one. The second one being that cut on your arm that night we sat on the rooftop, don't think I didn't notice it in PE."

I offered the boy a small smile as he stood up, coming closer to the bed. I moved my legs over so he could sit down.

" It should have been me. "

I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"What do you mean, Pete?"

"You're in this situation because you were protecting me. Just like how you ended up with a black eye, because you were protecting me."

I took his hand in mine causing him to look at me, tears starting to build up in his eyes.

"This is not your fault, Peter."

"You could have died, Sof. You were so close to death and I didn't think I could get you here in time-"

He paused.

"I thought I had lost you."

I squeezed his hand a little tighter.

"I'm still here, Pete. I'm alive right now because of you."

There was a silence between us.

"I think we should stop being friends, Sof."

His words were like daggers to the heart, so much so that I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Wha- what?"

"I can't keep letting you get hurt because of me."

Tears built up in my eyes as he tore his hand out of mine, the weight of the pain crushing my heart.

"I need to go. Goodbye, Sophie."

And with that he got up and walked out of the room. With that, Peter Parker walked out of my life.

_________________________________

Within the next three days I was discharged from hospital, of course under intense watch. Harry had come to pick me up, insisting on getting a taxi so I wouldn't have to walk, despite the fact it was only down the road. My heart still hung heavy with everything that had happened. I felt miserable and all I wanted to do was climb into bed and cry. What the nurse told me as I left circulated my mind, not letting me rest.

When we got back to the hotel I immediately got into the shower, needing to get rid of that hospital feeling. I looked in the mirror at the girl before me. I ran my finger softly over the three stitches that stretched across my body, already feeling ashamed of the scars that they would leave.

_______________________________

School was a challenge. Any little move would spike a surge of pain to course through me. MJ, Harry and Ned were always there helping out where they could. As for Peter, he had completely cut me off. No more dinners at the Parker's. No more movie marathons. No more Peter Parker. It pained me the most to see him just walk on by, knowing that deep down he cared.

Everything had been piling up on me. Every emotion one could feel I had felt it. I was broken. Destroyed. I couldn't keep going the way I was going. I was walking on a thin wire and it was ready to break. That whole day, three weeks after he walked out, all I could think about was Peter Parker.

After school that day I had went to the Avengers tower, to check in on what I had missed.

"Miss Osborn-"

There was no doubt that Tony was surprised to see me.

"-Please, come in."

I walked in and took my usual place across from the billionaire.

"Wasn't expecting you back for another while, kid."

"I know, Mr. Stark, but I just wanted to know if my place as an intern is still secure. Or do I risk losing that too?"

Tony could sense the hurt in my voice, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the desk, concentrating.

"You risked your life to save someone in a mask. That's not just a hero you'd want to throw away. You have nothing to worry about, your place is secure."

He offered me a smile as I got up to leave.

"Not everything you lose is permanently gone."

I turned back to face the man, giving a nod in return before walking out of the building.

Next stop: Parker residence.